Mask for Elanda Society
| Culture | Bembe |
|---|---|
| Title | Mask for Elanda Society ('Amgeningeni or 'Acwe) |
| Date | First half of the 20th century |
| Medium | Hide, glass beads, feathers, quills, cowrie shells, buttons, and and fiber |
| Dimensions | Object: 27 1/2 × 17 × 4 in. (69.9 × 43.2 × 10.2 cm) Mount: 29 3/16 × 17 1/8 in. (74.1 × 43.5 cm) Overall (includes mount): 29 3/16 × 17 1/8 × 4 in. (74.1 × 43.5 × 10.2 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 65.38 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Mask with a facial area covered in small white, red, and green beads, as well as cowrie shells by the mouth, ears, and in a line running from the forehead to the nose. The top and bottom of the mask are covered with feathers.
An imaginative combination of materials makes this mask visually striking, as well as unusual in Western museum collections, which emphasize masks carved from wood. Worn by a leader of the Elanda Society (a men’s association concerned with enforcing community laws and mores), the mask does not represent a specific being, but rather is said to be an ebu’a, “something hidden, unseen, unrecognizable, undefinable.”
Elanda masks are typically made of hide that is covered with cowrie shells and beads (this one also has two buttons below the cowrie shells under the mouth) and is surrounded by chicken feathers; the addition to the face mask of a chest piece makes this a particularly elaborate example.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Mask for Elanda Society | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=65.38